Nurturing the Spirit of Christmas

From a distance I saw hands waving, as if beckoning us to come nearer. Then, more hands emerged from the cells… but looking closely, I realized they were actually signs of dirty fingers. My disappointment was increasing, and my OH MY GOD! My Christmas cheer was suddenly drowned in the yells and screams of the inmates.

This was the scene that greeted us more than 10 years ago when one Christmas my mother decided that we go to the rehabilitation center to share the little that we have to the inmates..

I was teary-eyed. I have vehemently protested to the idea that we spend our Christmas there. Yuckkk! The idea, albeit noble, did not appeal to me or to my sisters. But mom insisted that we see Christmas in the eyes of the men and women whose lives have been blemished with crime, whose eyes have been dimmed by frustrations, whose manhood have been scarred by anger and whose hope have been killed by despair.  Will they ever feel the Christmas spirit?

The nasty remarks became louder as we approached them. It was as if it was the first time they get to see “outsiders” after many days of their confinement. They insinuated lust, greed, and thrill -- as if we could finally quench their hunger for that which quite seemed hard to decipher…

My heart went heavy, heavier than the loads of gift my hands were carrying and I am sure, my sisters felt the same or even worse.

The gift giving was an ordeal for us, trying to smile despite our disdain. No, it wasn’t disdain. We loathed it!!! And all those things did not pass unnoticed by Mom, who herself tried to expedite the activity so that we could leave the place as soon as we can.

Upon returning home, we confronted Mom regarding the risk she took for bringing us there.  Amidst the arrogant and rude prisoners, we did not see the spirit of giving or of Christmas.  For when one is assaulted, how can the essence of giving and sharing be felt?

Mom’s reply was simple: if we only love the lovable, that doesn’t make us distinct.

More than a decade had passed and now I work for the reconciliation of people who are divided by their claims of justice or by the assertion of their rights as a Court Annexed Mediator.  I still sigh at the thought of a broken friendship because of a check that bounced or a nasty gossip relayed. I get sad when siblings cannot agree on their inheritance and insist instead on breaking their family ties.  And I am further dismayed when I meet a parent accused for stealing something so she could feed her children.

Then I have come to realize that many of us languish in self-imposed prisons.  For we may be surrounded by people but feel completely alone.  Like those detainees in prison, we find ourselves subjected to undue discrimination, to painful debasement, to harsh and cruel judgment. In the real world, no quantum of evidence is necessary to prove our guilt.  People can be mean.  We become guilty as charged.

At times like these, my thoughts go back to that Christmas morn spent in the penitentiary.  If we love only the lovable, what does that make us? If we shun the world because we feel it owes us a lot, how do we get to see the very reason why God sent His Only Son?

Each of us is significant. Lovable or not before the eyes of men, we are all lovable before the eyes of our Creator.  God does not discriminate.  He even sent His Only Child so we may be saved.  We are THAT significant – to Him. 

The Christmas Spirit is here to stay – because as constant as the rising sun, God’s love for us is also constant.  May that knowledge guide us to doing what we can to spell a beautiful difference in each other’s lives.  Afterall, we all affect each other.  For as John Donne wrote,

“No man is an island,

Entire of itself.

Each is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main…

…for I am involved in the mankind.

…therefore, send not to know,

for whom the bells toll,

It tolls for thee.”

Happy Christmas everyone!

Nota Bene: This article was written for the Christmas Newsletter of our parish, the St. Michael the Archangel Parish.  Such newsletter is yet to come out sometime this month.  I am posting it here in my blog for posterity and reference.